


When Words Meet Heartbeats

by LightyOne



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Serial Killers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-24
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-02-06 01:18:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1839142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightyOne/pseuds/LightyOne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Behavioral Science Unit is in a middle of a case, going nowhere. And as Will is slowly breaking down, Alana fights her way through all the mess and to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Crusher

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanficton ever so I hope you like it. Comments and criticism will be appreciated!

‘ No’ Jack’s voice echoed in the room and everyone jumped a little in their seats . ‘ I can’t let the killer roam freely around the streets! He may as well kill another girl tonight!’

No one dared to speak a world nor to move in their seats. All the people in the room agreed with him and were equally or even more scared but no one was ready to tell Jack that they’ve already done everything humanly possible and that the only thing they were able to do was wait for the killer to makes his next move.  
Silence settled into the room. Will was already grasping his arm-rest and was on the verge of either breaking down into tears or bursting out of the room. He was not really good with shouting people and the last thing Jack was was quiet. And the storm broke forth again.  
Jack’s vein was pulsating hard on his forehead and his look was one of a madman. 

‘FOR GOD’S SAKE, WILL! USE YOUR FRIGGIN GIFT!’ 

He looked at Will as if he was his only hope, and speaking frankly, he could as well been his last hope. Graham was already shivering in his chair, determined not to let his tears burst out, his gaze wandering in the distance.  
Alana, sitting on his right, was stroking his leg under the table, trying to soothe him desperately.  
No one in the room was actually prepared for this, not Will, not Alana, not Beverly and certainly not Jack. When they took the case two months earlier everyone thought it would be a piece of cake but in the end in turned out people were right when they said that one should not underestimate anything, even so the cases you’re taking. 

***  
Their first meeting with the Crusher was two month ago , when they were introduced to the case of Jessica Monway – the girl crushed in pieces and put in a bag. No one believed it at first, after the Chesapeake’s Ripper everything was quite for a while, but then boom – suddenly girls went missing. Two weeks later Jessica – the second missing girl – was found in pieces and put in a bag, hanging from her parents ceiling. The parents were in shock so they called two hours after they have found the bag so the crime scene was contaminated enough and the clues were messy as hell that even Will got a little bit confused.  
One day later another bag was found in another girl’s home. The design was precisely the same – the bag was hanging in the middle of the kitchen and drops of blood were slowly dropping rhythmically, even melodically somehow, on the kitchen floor. The girl’s body was broken and then sliced in equal pieces just like the one of the previous girl. It was somehow both fascinating and scary how someone could do such a thing with such precision and pedantry.  
And this was only the beginning. For about two weeks ten girls were found dead and chopped and no extra clues were showing up. Everything was pretty much the same – the girls were killed in an identical way and the killer was smart enough to render almost all the parents catatonic so the crime scenes were pretty much useless. All besides one.  
The elders were clever enough not to touch anything and to call the cops as soon as they’ve stepped into the house and saw the bag. Will showed up and everyone got out but then again the information he managed to collect was not much and not really helpful. As far as he could say, he hadn’t seen or felt anything like that, he sensed no real motive, just some kind of perverted enjoyment and anger. However, they were able to make a profile of the killer’s type – all the girls were about 170sm tall, black haired, brown-eyed and very, very skinny, pale pink lips and milky white skin. But that was pretty much it and the team was going nowhere which led to the meeting.  
***

Jack managed to gain command of himself and looked at the people sitting around the table. It was all so clear that he was in pain and that he could barely contain himself and all the feeling he felt. People, young girls were dying and he wasn’t able to do anything about it and this was killing him slowly. 

“I want monitoring on all of the houses of the missing girls, I want surveillance everywhere - in the shops, in the malls, everywhere. Every girl that fits the profile shall be taken in the station and then send to a safe-house. We shall catch that psycho and we shall catch him fast. Dismissed.” 

All the people from the hall started slowly making their way out, all of them, except Alana and Will. The man was still shaking and was reluctant to stand up. 

“Come.” 

Bloom took his hand and helped him up. At first he hesitated but then the strength went back into his feet and he was able to stand up without shaking or falling. His gaze was now fixed on the women beside him and she could swear that she could feel all the gratefulness and warmth in those eyes. 

“Thank you.”

Jack was waiting at the door, looking at them. They could tell that he was preparing to say something. As they came closer, Jack finally spoke up. 

“Sorry about earlier, Will. I know you dislike shouting, just… things are getting out of control and you know how I hate that. And I know you’re doing all you can. Just, please, don’t give up. You CAN’T give up, Will. Human lives are at stakes.”

Will took a deep breath and forced himself to fix his stare at him. 

“ I know, Jack. But, you know what this does to me. I don’t like it, any of this. I’m good at it but I hate. I’m not sure how long I will be able to keep doing that. I’m sorry.” 

Not waiting for an answer he left the conference room and then out of the station, torpidly saying his goodbyes to people who he wasn’t able to see by now and leaving Alana beside with Jack.  
She just gave Crawford a furious look, murmured something like “You shouldn’t…” under her breath and rushed out after Will, knowing very well that the last thing he need to be now was alone and that he had to know that someone cared. Actually, she was pretty sure he knew that she cared, empathy was his gift and his curse, sociability however wasn’t his strongest suit and neither was the feeling of safety. 

She reached him and gently grabbed his hand. 

“Are you okay?”

She asked, perfectly aware of the fact that it was a stupid question and no, he was not okay. She was pretty sure something in him was breaking and it was creeping her out that she didn’t know how to reach it or fix it. 

“I’ll be fine.”

Will looked her with his pretty brown eyes and let go of her hand and got into his car, leaving her alone on the pavement, totally speechless and clueless of what she was supposed to do. 

Alana stayed there for a little while, looking at his car as he was getting further away. It took her a few moments to realize what has just happened and that it was in fact Will that just left in the car. Thoughts were racing in her head and she was going through the meeting and the scene over and over again. 

The murders. The meeting. Shouting. Leaving. 

So many things have happened in such a short time that everything somehow mixed and left her blankly staring into the nothingness and in the exact moment the nothingness ironically happened to be a crowded street. 

*Interesting how sometimes even the most crowded and loudest places seem empty and made you feel lonely and at the end of the world. Oh, well…* she thought as another stranger passed her by and stroke her with something between a surprise and a leer.

It was what it was. One thing was undisputable – she had to go home and take some rest. Her mind was slowly crashing and she needed to take a bath and watch a movie or something to take her mind off of everything. Her brain was saying that after that she was going to be able to look at all these things in a totally new light and so to make a better decision. First though, first she had to go home.


	2. Crash and Crush

Alana got into the car and turned on the engine. She felt weak and uncertain. She wanted to help but she did not know how, she wanted to solve the case but it wasn’t working out. Thinking about it, she realized she had never felt so lost in her entire life and all she wanted now was… Will?  
He popped into her mind totally unexpected. She was trying to keep their relationship strictly in the friendship zone and having him roaming in her mind like that was truly crazy. Well, to be honest, maybe she had something for him. Maybe.   
No. Will was her friend. Just a friend. Now, focus.

The woman focused her gaze on the road and realized she had taken the highway to her home without being aware of it. Her brain was so preoccupied with other stuff that the autopilot had taken control and she was moving totally self-unconsciously around the town and was slowly going to her targeted destination.   
Cars were passing her by fast just as the thoughts were racing in her mind. She had seen something in Will’s eyes today. Something that both worried and fascinated her, and all she wanted in that moment back there was to take him in her arms and never let him go. She wanted to make him feel like home. 

Another car passed her by and the traffic light changed from green to red as Alana bounced her fingers on the steering wheel to Katrina & the Waves’ song “I’m Walking on Sunshine”. Walking on sunshine was actually the last thing she was doing but the tune was catchy and she had to be honest with herself – one of her all-time favorites.   
The light turned green and so she stepped on the gas. The car hadn’t made even a mile ahead when a bright light blinded her and she grabbed firmly the wheel, trying to hit the brakes as fast as possible. Timing can be a bitch though – the car that had blinded her was apparently driven by a person who had never heard of words and actions such as “Stop”, “Turn” or “Brakes”, so his vehicle crashed into Alana’s, literally cutting into her bonnet and stopping inches from her body. The front car window broke into small pieces, falling hard and fast on Alana’s head, just like a cold autumn’s rain. She felt how her eyebrow split and warm blood start running down her cheek, her lips were probably bruised too, she could feel them burning and itching, just like the feeling in her stomach. Her hands were shaking. Stepping out of the car, she immediately dropped down on the cold ground to the sound of police and ambulance’s sirens coming closer and closer.   
Not a minute had passed when a policeman tapped her gently on the shoulder, while carefully catching her and helping her up. Alana looked at him blankly, still in shock from what had just happened, her tremors were getting stronger and she was pretty sure that talking wouldn’t go easy with her now, although, spending enough time around policeman and at crime scenes now, she knew that she would have to talk at some point, the policemen were going to ask her something about the accident sooner or later after all.

“Ma’am, are you alright?” The cop asked, while helping her to the ambulance. “Is there someone you want us to call? A relative – your parents or your husband maybe?”

She stared at him for a while, checking her phone book in her mind, searching for a person she would like to call in case of emergency, someone that could actually take care of her and not judge her for how she acted or what she said. After a minute of thinking the verdict was reached.

“Graham, Sir, please call Mr. Will Graham.”

“Ok, ma’am.” 

Alana was left with the medical staff and now a boy, probably about twenty, twenty-two years old, was fixing her eyebrow. 

“It will probably sting for a while, Miss, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry.” 

She tried to comfort him and then immediately doze off in her imaginary world again. It was very unusual of her, now that she was thinking about it, she rarely snapped at all – her patients were the ones who did it and she was there to listen, to comfort and to give advice. Now it seemed like she was the one that needed to be put down on the ground and one would think that the car crush would be enough, especially when she saw the condition of her car, but it didn’t seem to help. The case and Will’s eyes were constantly on her mind and the thought that she was going to see the latter soon was making her feel warm inside, despite all the stress and the shaking of her hands.   
An officer approached her carefully and stared at her, waiting to see her ready to talk.

“Um.. “ he coughed. “I’m sorry that I’m disturbing you in such a stressful moment, Ma’am. It’s just… we need your testimony, your point of view on the accident.”

The bass timbre of the policeman’s voice shook her out of her dream and once out, she concentrated and tried to remember as much of what happened as possible.

“ I was waiting at the traffic light, then, when the light turned green, I stepped on the pedal. Then… I think, less than a mile ahead I was blinded by the other drive’s head-lights and pressed the brakes immediately.” She bit her lip, making it bleed once more. “ I wasn’t fast enough I suppose… But that’s pretty much it, Officer. The next thing I remember was the glass falling all over my head and then you came.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you for your cooperation, Ma’am. Get well soon.”

“ALANA!”

She heard a voice in the distance and wondered how much time had passed after the car crush. She doubted it was more than half an hour and yet he was here. Will was here.  
The man run towards her and stepped just inches from her. He observed her for a few brief seconds and then wrapped her in a hug, while bursting an ocean of words towards her. Will could barely take his breath and was examining her from top to bottom. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t come fast enough. What happened? I’m taking you home. It’s going to be alright.”

He wasn’t waiting for an answer to his questions, asking one after another in an endless succession and it seemed like he would have gone like that forever if it wasn’t for Alana who took his hand and squeezed it softly. 

“I’m fine, Will, don’t worry. I’m just a little bit stressed out. Thank you so very much for coming.”

She took his hand and they passed by the policemen, telling them they’re going home. And since Alana’s car was pretty much useless and taken in custody, at least until the case was solved and the compensation – paid, they got into Will’s car. 

Still a little bit shaking, Will got into the pilot’s seat and turned on the engine. It was clear that he was still worried but things were getting in their place and he seemed to be getting calmer slowly.  
Alana turned to him, looking at him quietly. His face was illuminated by the soft moonlight and in her head she thought that he had never been so handsome. She could clearly see every gesture or facial expression he made and most of all, she could see his beautiful brown eyes – the ones she had been dreaming about for the last few hours.   
She let a sigh in her mind, not realizing she did too in the real life which alarmed Will and made him look at her. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, probably for a thousand time this evening. 

“Yeah, I told you, just a little bit stressed about the car crush. And then this case…” She was so very far from telling him that it was actually him she was thinking about. Things didn’t have to get messier. Luckily he caught on the bait about the case or so she thought. 

“This Crusher guy… I can sense him, Alana. He’s some kind of weird psycho, you know. The Chesapeake’s Reaper… he was easy, he had a motive, I was able to get into his head. This one though, this one’s different. I can feel him hunting, I can even get into his head and see him killing those girls, I can feel his anger, the triumph and the enjoyment. I see his rise and his fall and yet I can’t understand his design. It’s killing me.”

What was actually scaring him though, but he thought he would never say it out loud, was that Alana fitted the profile somewhat. She had brown hair, brown eyes, she was skinny and insanely beautiful. And that freaked him out, nowadays he had begun to wonder whether the abandonment issues or the fear of Alana being gone scared him more. And he was beginning to realize the answer. 

“It’s okay, Will. We’ll find him. He’ll make a mistake, everyone does, he’s not perfect, you know.” 

She wasn’t really sure if she believed her own words but she had to comfort him somehow. She knew him well enough to know that he wanted the killer caught really bad and that the burden of the deed was all on him and not being able to solve the case was literally taking his tall on him.  
They went quiet for a while and Alana looked out of the window, breathing in the breezeless, cold night air. She could clearly see Sirius and The Big Bear in the sky, along with a lot of other stars she could not actually name but somehow they made her calmer and even sleepy. By now she was actually craving for a warm bed and a nice hot cup of tea, maybe accompanied with a few biscuits.It was clear that her plan for the night was ruined but now that Will was here, she thought, it could had been for the best. 

The engine stopped roaring and Alana went back to reality. She stepped out of the car and followed Will to his house at Wolf Trap. As soon as they approached the house a pack of dogs came running towards them, barking cheerfully. She immediately recognized Winston, who seemed to remember her too, since he went to her and waited patiently to be petted.   
Few minutes later they were already inside the house still surrounded by all the dogs. It was pretty idyllic actually, only the cup of the was missing but almost as soon as Alana thought that, Will popped out of the kitchen holding two cups – one for Alana and one for him. 

“Wait here.” He instructed her and ran out, leaving her totally surprised. What she didn’t know though was that the surprises were just coming her way. 

About a minute later Will came back. He had a huge smile on his face and it grew even wider when he saw the woman playing with his dogs and looking happy. 

“I have to show you something.” 

He let out his hand and she took it.   
They went out of the house and started walking in the field in front of it. 

“Do you trust me, Alana?”

“Of course.”

“Close your eyes then.”

He put his hands on her eyes and gently turned her around then again he uncovered her eyes and whispered in her year, just loud enough so she could hear him and look. 

“You know, sometimes I light up the house and the walks across the field and I come here and I imagine that the house is a boat on the sea and that’s the only time I feel safe and calm. And I thought you need some feeling of safety tonight and…”

He was probably going to continue forever if it wasn’t for Alana, who shushed and took his hand once again. Her heart started racing and for a moment she wanted to hug him again – a feeling that she was so very familiar with nowadays – but she restrained herself from doing so. Instead, she just sat there quietly, thinking of how wrong she was having thought that her previous plans were good. 

“Thank you, Will, sincerely, thank you.”

They stayed like that for a while then got inside the house again. It was getting really late and both of them were supposed to get some sleep. Trying not to say anything about sleeping in the same bed, Will concentrated on his feet on the floor and tried to find the right words.

“I’ll be taking the couch tonight, you can sleep in my bed. The dogs won’t bother you, I’ll leave them here with me. Take some rest, you need it.”

She looked at him and smiled gracefully. She wished for him to look into her eyes and to read all the feelings and the gratitude she felt but knew well enough the he had had enough eye contact for today.”

“Goodnight, Will. Thank you again, I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

She went upstairs, quickly undressing and getting under the blankets, thinking about how she will be able to take her mind off everything once she fall asleep. And she was right, at least for a little while – she dozed off as fast as her head touched the pillow. And it would have been alright if it wasn’t for the scream that woke her up two hours later...


	3. Nightmares and kisses

Will dreamt of deer crossing the road, walking to his house. Then suddenly one of the deer turned into Hannibal with horns on his head and after just a blink he transformed into Will. And it wouldn’t have woke him up if it wasn’t for what happened afterwards – the deer came back into his original form and ran away as if it was scared by something. Then a tall, hooded man came into view. All Will was able to see his eyes – red and glistening with anger. And he was chasing something, he was running ahead, knife in his hand, letting out yells that didn’t do anything but to scare his prey even more. What terrified Graham though was the prey itself. Somehow his fears were getting the best of him and now they were getting even in his dreams, not giving him even a second or rest and calmness. 

The hooded man was running ahead and then the scene zoomed and Will was able to see the victim clearly. It was a woman with long brown hair, skinny and beautiful and it was no one else but Alana Bloom. 

The man shook off of his sleep. He was sweating and trembling all the same and his heart was going to pop out of his chest because of the paralyzing fear he was now experiencing. Seconds later Alana came running down the stairs, maybe just as scared as he was. 

“What happened? You were screaming!”

She looked at him with her eyes full or worry. She knew very well that he had another one of his nightmares, she could only guess the essence of it – she knew that he had been dreaming of Hannibal, of killers and crime scenes and that the occasional happy stuff like rainbows, unicorns and cotton candy weren’t actually the kind of stuff that haunted his dreams. 

“Just a nightmare. Sorry for waking you up.”

His words came out by fits and starts and he realized he didn’t sound confident at all. Trying to make her go and rest again, he looked into her eyes, knowing that telling lies and being unsure rarely teamed up with that kind of nonverbal expression. However, she wasn’t fooled at all.   
She took him by the hand and tried to pull him off the couch. This, of course, happened without any sound made, both of them being completely sure what the other wanted to say and do. Alana started leading him up the stairs and into his bedroom, the dogs following behind them.   
She made him strip his clothes and pushed him towards the shower. “A nice, warm bath would do him good” she thought as she took his shirt off, desperately trying not to sneak a peak on his naked body. 

The water was running down his spine, sending shivers all over his body, making it painfully clear that he was awake now and he was home. His heart on the other hand refused to listen to his mind, it kept on racing even though Will knew very well that Alana was in the next room, safe and sound. Thoughts were running through his head and he was desperately searching for a way to keep Alana safe as much as possible and not let her out of his sight. He ran his fingers through his hair, vaguely realizing they were still shaking.   
Graham closed his eyes and let the water fall down his face uninterrupted. He could still see the man from his nightmare clearly and he could feel the paralyzing fear in his heart. He had to shake it off though, he had to come out of the shower and look f-i-n-e so that Alana could rest. After all she was the one who needed comfort tonight, she was the one who survived a car crush and not him. Although he had his own crushes, he thought.   
Will let out a sigh and got out of the bathroom. Towel around his waist, he got into the room just to find Alana resting peacefully on the bed, stroking Winston’s head softly.  
He put on his pajama pants and slowly got into bed, trying not to disturb either Alana or Winston. 

“If he bothers you, I can always make him go on the floor” he said, turning to Alana, who turned her back to Winston and faced Will. Feeling that his not really needed now, Winston got off the bed. 

“There’s no need now” Alana answered, giggling. 

She stared into his brown eyes, drowning in them. She felt like she could spend eternity looking at him and it still wouldn’t be enough and she would not get bored. Alana felt a tingling in her gut and she felt the urge to lean in and kiss him. Her longing had been increasing through the night and now it was almost overwhelming. Strange thing was that Will didn’t take his eyes off her either and the tension was slowly building into the air and at one point she could swear she could cut it with a knife.   
She laid her hand on his waist, slowly making her way up the base of his spine and the up his neck until she finally rested in on his cheek. The shivers in his body were slow but distinctive and she was pretty sure it was not because of the nightmare now. 

His heart was going to burst out of his chest. He could feel Alana’s palm almost burning on his cheek and his body was shivering under her touch. His courage got to his peak point and he decided it was time to act. Will touched her neck softly and got closer to her until his nose almost touched hers. He could feel her breath on his skin.   
*Go, Will, do it. Just do it*, he thought.   
He closed his eyes, leaned in and kissed her. Their lips met and the world stopped spinning for a while. He tasted her on his lips, felt her, embraced her body and for a little while they become one. And it was beautiful, and sensual and oh so wrong. 

 

\-------------  
Hope you liked it. I'm not used to writing lose scenes and it was kind of my first one. But there'll be more to come as Alana and WIll grow closer and the case with the Crusher gets more and more complicated and dangerous.


End file.
